Intro to Psychology

Essay by janglofetHigh School, 10th gradeA+, March 2004

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Introduction - The term psychology comes from two Greek words: psyche, which means "soul," and logos, "the study of." Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and the mind.

Psychology investigates an enormous range of phenomena: learning and memory, sensation and perception, motivation and emotion, thinking and language, personality and social behavior, intelligence, infancy and child development, mental illness, and a lot more. Psychologists examine these topics from many different perspectives. Some conduct detailed biological studies of the brain, others explore how we process information; and still others study the influence of culture and society.

Questions Psychologists try to answer -

1.Are individuals genetically predisposed at birth to develop certain traits or abilities?

2.How accurate are people at remembering faces, places, or conversations from the past?

3.What motivates us to seek out friends and sexual partners?

4.Why do so many people become depressed and behave in ways that seem self-destructive?

5.Do intelligence test scores predict success in school, or later in a career?

6.What causes prejudice, and why is it so widespread?

7.Can the mind be used to heal the body?

Other Sciences that relate to Psychology -

Physiology - the biological study of the functions of living organisms and their parts.

Sociology - the scientific study of human social relations or group life.

Anthropology - the study of all aspects of human life and culture.

Major areas of research -

Psychology is formed of two kinds of research: applied and basic.

Basic researchers test theories and build a foundation of knowledge. While applied psychologists study people in real-world settings and use the results to solve practical human problems. There are five major areas of research: biopsychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. Both basic and applied research are conducted...